Five Decapitated Bodies Dumped In Michoacan Capital

Five decapitated bodies were found dumped along two streets in the western province ofMichoacan, where murder rates and drug violence are rising.

TARIMBARO,MICHOACAN,MEXICO(DECEMBER 28, 2013) (REUTERS) - Five severed heads and their bodies were dumped in two spots Saturday morning (December 28) around the capital of the western state ofMichoacanthat has been plagued by worsening drug gang violence this year.

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Three sets of bodies and heads were displayed in the street in a township on the northern edge of Morelia and the other two were left in the town square of a community in the southern part of the capital, according to a statement from the state prosecutor's office.

Police on the scene gathered evidence before carting away the gruesome discovery.

Michoacan's murder rate rose in 2013 compared to declines in most states and has nearly doubled since 2006. Last month, dozens of mutilated corpses were found buried in mass graves in an area on the border between the states of Michoacan and Jalisco.

Violence spiked in Michoacan in recent years and masked groups of vigilantes took power in some rural communities in 2013, claiming the government was failing to stop gang extortion and violence.

Decapitations became an increasingly common form of gangland vengeance acrossMexico since five heads were tossed onto a barroom dance floor in the Michoacan town of Uruapan in 2006.

Nationwide, murders peaked in 2011 amid a military-led war against drug gangs, official data shows. President Enrique Pena Nieto, who ends his first year in office, shifted focus away from battling drug cartels to pushing a series of economic reforms through a divided Congress.